Well hello there, it’s been a while! Long story short, life kept moving on as usual, we had some slight domain/web issues, but we’re back and we look forward to using this blog more frequently to keep everyone updated on our journey. With that out of the way, let’s get on with the update!

Last week, we celebrated Indigo’s 3rd birthday in Salt Lake City & Provo, Utah, visited and celebrated life with Grandpa Doug (95), and had the amazing opportunity to stay at Jamie & Bret’s house for our 5-day trip (which we are so beyond grateful for)! The Greenburg’s were busy spending their time with Uncle Nolan during his 70th birthday in Carson, so we had the house to ourselves for a bit.

The drive there was smooth sailing (even though our Venza was now rattling – which we made sure was safe to drive before departure, but was still annoying and loud… Since writing this, we have it figured it as per Cameron’s cousin Charlie & Veronica). We left a little late, and arrived a little late during our 11 hour traverse across the desert and timezone. Once we arrived at 11:30pm Sunday night, we crashed. ZZzz…

Day 1 – Monday, May 27th
Exploring a new coffee shop (Rugged Grounds) in Provo the next day, and making it up to the Stewart Falls trailhead were our first adventures. We went about halfway on the trail before deciding to turn around (we didn’t pack enough snacks, there were 100 million people on the trailhead due to it being Memorial day, etc).

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Day 2 – Tuesday, May 28th
Our second day we took the 45-minute drive to Salt Lake to visit with Grandpa Doug! We had a wonderful time meeting his hamster, checking out his new place, having some lunch, and getting packed up to go to the Sugar House Park. We sat under a big tree and took some family photos as we enjoyed the Summer breeze at this beautiful park. We then got to see Aunt Sis (Doug’s sister) at her house nearby and got to see Doug’s dog Abby, whom he misses very much.

After we brought Doug back home, we decided to visit Trolley Square (to those who remember, this is where Cameron asked Meagan to be “unorthodoxically orthodox” atop the water tower at Trolley Square)! It was amazing to see this place again, shop, run around the halls, and this time we tried eating at the restaurant inside “The Old Spaghetti Factory”. They sang Indigo Happy Birthday, brought her some ice cream, and she was happy as a clam.

Day 3 – Wednesday, May 29th – Indigo’s Birthday!
Today was the day! We were soooo excited, and so was GoGo. We got our bags packed & ready to go to the Provo Rec Center indoor/outdoor pool to celebrate Indigo’s 3rd birthday! This was Indigo’s first pool experience, she has been to Lake Tahoe and the Truckee River, but never a swimming pool. She was really interested in the water, and the playground they have there, and even trusted herself to let go (of her small fear of large bodies of water) and have a ton of fun! We went into the wave pool, a BIG slide (with Daddy), small slides, and the lazy river which was her favorite. With her toddler life jacket, she leaned back and put her arms out and let the river take her, it was so sweet.

After a successful day at the pool, we ventured to a nearby river walk close to the Utah Lake State Park in Provo. We saw a photographer taking photos of owls, and he reported there were two babies that were close to leaving the nest/mom’s side and he even showed us his pictures – how cool! We enjoyed this walk and decided to call it night after a long day under the sun.

Day 4 – Thursday, May 30th
Jamie Greenburg re-joined us at her home after arriving on the train from Reno at 3am today! She came along with us to downtown Provo for morning beverages at “Peace on Earth”, and a quick visit to a gift store/flower shop “FoxGlove”. The resident cat greeted us and played with Indigo too. So cute! We dropped Jamie off, and headed to Spanish Fork, UT for a celebratory birthday pedicure for Indigo – and also Mom and even Dad. Indigo and Dad got matching turquoise nails (Indigo chose the color) and Meagan got “Barbie” pink nails, with 4 sparkly and 1 not! To finish off the day, we went back to the Provo Rec Center for more pool time, and then headed home to enjoy a pre-made dinner Jamie made for us and… Sleep.

Day 5 – Friday, May 31st
To finish off our trip, we headed back to Salt Lake City to visit Grandpa Doug again. This time we went to Publik Coffee Roasters to sit and enjoy some outdoor weather and coffee. Dad even put Indigo on Doug’s walker and took her for a stroll down the sidewalk and back… After dropping off Grandpa and saying our goodbyes, we headed to Liberty Park to get some playtime for the toddler at this super newly renovated park that even had a splash pad!

It was time to refuel, so we headed to Sugar House Commons and enjoyed some delicious Mediterranean food from Spitz Restaurant which was excellent! Nearby “Hidden Hollow” was super neat, as we ventured through the dense cottonwood trees exploring an untouched and restored nature area with a gushing river. Then we were off to King’s English Bookshop. Meagan’s childhood nostalgia took over and definitely hit a bit different with Sundance closing. We put some books on hold to pick up the next day, and we headed back to Provo to make dinner and go to bed.

Day 6 – Saturday, June 1st
Bonus day! We were hoping to leave towards Reno by 9am to get an early start, but the universe had other plans for us. We packed up, said goodbye to the Greenburg’s home and Provo, and made our way to Salt Lake for unfinished business. Our first objective was to pick up our freshly baked pre-ordered zucchini loaf from Oasis Cafe. Starving, we decided to put our name in for a 30-minute wait at the Cafe while we ventured next door to Golden Braid Books. Fun fact: this is where Indigo spent some time running around when she was 1 during our SLC trip 2 years ago. This time she got to write a wish on a colored piece of construction paper with a butterfly, and so did Dad.

We enjoyed breakfast at the cafe, and headed over to the bookstore to meet Jamie & pick up our books, took part in the storytime that just happened to occur with a cute craft & dance party afterwards, and then we were off to Reno! Our first time stopping at the Salt Flats did not disappoint and got some rad photos! We made a quick stop in Wells for Cameron to see his Uncle Beans, missing Max while he was at work.

Upon arriving after a long drive of crying, naps, phone calls to relatives, and fun road trip music – we arrived home to a clean home… Or so we thought. Ezra (Pipkin and Feebee too!) had been taken care of by our wonderful neighbors, but apparently Ez was anxious and bombarded our 2nd story with dogpiles. Cameron, exhausted, took care of it while Meagan showered, feeling sick, and all went to bed… again, exhausted.

Overall, this was an incredible trip and we forged unforgettable memories, photos, and got to see family during our celebratory stomping around the metropolitan area of Salt Lake 2024. Cheers, and we hope to write to you soon!